/ 


UC-NRLF 


GIFT   OF 


"A 


©treat 


of 


1,  19O9, 


.  Jerome 


Edwin  McMasters  Stanton, 

The  Great  War  Secretary. 


BY  EDWARD  SPARROW  JEROME. 


The  year  1869  was  marked  by  several  events  of  prime  interest  and 
importance,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  It  witnessed  the  inauguration 
at  Washington  of  the  hero  of  the  Civil  War,  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  as 
President  of  these  United  States.  It  witnessed  the  induction  into  office 
of  that  other  hero,  Charles  W.  Eliot,  whose  career  as  president  of 
Harvard  has  been  as  striking,  as  brilliant  and  as  successful  in  peace  as 
Grant's  was  in  war.  It  witnessed  the  great  engineering  feat  of  binding 
the  East  and  the  West  together  forever  by  means  of  iron  bands,  the 
completion  of  the  first  transcontinental  railway  being  formally  con 
cluded  by  the  driving  of  the  last  spike,  a  golden  one,  near  Ogden, 
Utah.  Abroad,  the  larger  East  was  as  firmly  bound  to  the  larger 
West  by  the  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal;  and  Africa  ceased  to  be  a  Dark 
Continent. 

These  great  events  were  peaceful;  constructive;  and  added  to  the 
happiness,  the  prosperity,  the  progress  not  only  of  our  own  people  but 
of  the  world  at  large.  But  alas!  other  events  took  place.  Death  as 
well  as  Life  was  busy.  //  is  not  constructive;  it  can  never  be  aught 
but  destructive!  It  claimed  the  Father  of  Philanthropy,  George 
Peabody;  another  victim  was  John  Bell,  one  of  Lincoln's  rivals  in  '60 
for  the  presidency;  ex-President  Pierce  was  laid  with  his  fathers; 
William  Pitt  Fessenden,  thought  by  Blaine  to  have  been  the  ablest 
senator  ever  chosen  by  the  Republican  party,  passed  away;  and  last — 


345064 


not  least  but  the  greatest  of  these,  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  the  Great  War 
Secretary,  was  mustered  out  at  the  early  age  of  fifty- five! 

Great  war  secretaries,  or  ministers,  like  angels'  visits,  are  few  and 
far  between!  In  all  her  modern  history,  with  its  innumerable  wars, 
England  has  had  but  one — William  Pitt  the  Elder, — Cromwell  was  his 
own  minister;  France  but  two — Louvois  and  Niel,  for  Napoleon  like 
Cromwell  was  his  own  servant;  Prussia  only  one,  Von  Roon.  Our 
revolutionary  struggle  was  carried  on  without  a  real  head  or  war 
secretary,  hence  Washington's  endless  troubles  and  sorrows.  Knox 
was  an  able  lieutenant,  but  scarcely  an  executive  force.  The  war  of 
1812  was  fought  under  Madison,  a  civilian  who  grew  more  and  more 
timid  as  the  war  progressed.  Monroe  and  others  were  in  the  war 
office,  but  there  was  little  leadership  and  co-operation;  and  we  actually 
suffered  the  humiliation  of  seeing  a  British  force  occupy  Washington 
and  burn  the  White  House!  Taylor  and  Scott  fought  the  war  with 
Mexico,  though  Secretary  Marcy's  conduct  of  his  office  was  energetic 
and  efficient. 

But  it  remained  for  our  civil  war  to  bring  forward  and  develop  a 
truly  great  war  minister,  one  of  heroic  mold  worthy  to  rank  with  the 
greatest  men  of  his  time,  of  all  time!  There  were  giants  in  those  days 
and  he  easily  measured  up  to  them.  Lincoln,  Seward,  Chase  and 
Stanton  were  giants  in  the  Cabinet,  even  as  Grant,  Sherman,  Sheridan 
and  Thomas  were  giants  in  the  field.  Farragut,  Porter,  Foote  and 
Dupont  ruled  the  wave,  even  as  Sumner  and  Fessenden  did  the  Senate; 
as  Stevens  and  Colfax  did  the  House.  We  Ohioans  take  a  natural 
pride,  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  recalling  that  Stanton  was  born  upon  our 
soil.  Let  us  glance  briefly  at  his  early  life  here  and  elsewhere,  and 
see  how  he  came  to  be  called  at  the  eleventh  hour  into  Buchanan's 
cabinet  to  assist  in  preserving  the  union;  how  he  became  Lincoln's 
great  servant  and  right  hand  man;  and  how  he  initiated,  carried 
forward  and  completed  measures  which  crushed  the  rebellion  and 
brought  peace  to  our  distracted  country! 

Stanton,  like  Grant,  Sherman  and  Sheridan,  first  saw  the  light  of 
day  in  the  Buckeye  state.  On  Monday,  December  19,  1814,  "a  day 
turbulent,  chilly  and  full  of  driving  snow,"  he  was  born  at  Steuben- 
ville,  the  first  child  of  Dr.  David  and  Lucy  Norman  Stanton.  Samuel 
J.  Tilden  came  into  the  world  earlier  in  the  year;  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  General  Fremont  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas  the  year  before. 


Their's  was  the  only  decade  in  one  hundred  and  thirty  years,  1.731  to 
1861,  which  produced  no  president!  Stanton's  birth  atoned  for  this 
omission.  He  was  a  small  and  puny  babe  and  so  continued  for  three 
years;  at  four  he  became  more  rugged  and  was  fairly  so  throughout 
his  life,  though  with  a  decided  tendency  to  asthma.  He  was  a  pre 
cocious  child,  a  student  from  the  beginning;  had  a  religious  turn  and 
was  very  earnest  and  honest.  He  joined  the  Methodist  Church  when 
barely  twelve  years  of  age.  Says  one,  "He  was  frank  and  manly  and 
impressed  all  as  being  sincere.  He  did  not  hang  his  head  and  hesi 
tate,  but  rose  promptly  to  give  his  confession."  Says  another,  "He 
was  always  a  man,  always  aimed  at  something  high  and  never  spent 
an  idle  moment.  Was  a  good  talker  and  from  boxes  and  barrels  in 
his  father's  stable  displayed  his  eloquence  to  his  playmates." 

When  Kdwin  was  thirteen  his  father  died  suddenly,  leaving  a 
small  estate  and  making  it  necessary  for  the  mother  to  open  a  general 
store.  The  boy  continued  his  studies,  assisting  her  the  while. 
Securing  a  place  in  a  book-store  and  publishing  house,  the  only  fault 
found  with  him  was  his  inordinate  love  of  reading  thereby  causing 
customers  to  wait!  /  At  seventeen  he  entered  Kenyon  College,  having 
decided  upon  a  profession.  Associate  Justice  David  Davis  was  a 
fellow  student.  Kenyon  was  known  as  The  Star  in  the  West,  and 
under  the  personal  direction  of  Bishop  Chase,  Stanton  thus  came  to 
know  the  Episcopal  Church,  which  in  later  years  he  joined.  His 
college  life  was  severe  and  primitive — the  buildings  stood  in  an 
unbroken  forest;  but  he  studied  hard  and  attained  high  rank.  He 
combated  with  vehemence  the  doctrine  of  nullification  in  the  debating 
society,  anticipating  by  thirty  years  his  conduct  in  the  war  office. 
But  few  college  pranks  were  laid  at  his  door,  the  worst  being  the 
unauthorized  use  at  night  of  the  good  Bishop's  horse.  Unfortunately 
his  funds  gave  out  and  he  was  forced  to  leave  college  in  a  year  and  a 
half  without  graduating;  but  he  always  had  a  warm  spot  in  his  heart 
for  Kenyon  and  sent  his  son  thither.  I  Having  decided  upon  the  law, 
he  pursued  his  studies  with  energy,  "but  giving  no  time  to  hunting, 
fishing  nor  recreation."  Life  was  indeed  real  and  earnest  to  him.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  when  slightly  under  age  and  sprang  into 
active  practice  at  once.  Thenceforward  his  course  was  upward  and 
onward.  His  reputation  as  a  lawyer  widened  until  fame  came  to 
him;  the  legislature  elected  him  supreme  court  reporter;  he  won  good 


fees  and  prosperity  was  his;  he  had  made  a    happy  marriage  and    his 
home  life  was  ideal. 

About  this  time  he  began  to  take  an  active  part  in  politics  on  the 
Democratic  side.  He  was  a  delegate  to  several  of  their  state  conven 
tions  and  served  on  committees;  and  was  even  a  delegate  to  their 
national  convention  held  in  Baltimore  in  1840.  His  law  partner,  Senator 
Tappan,  was  prominent  in  the  party  and  a  personal  friend  of  Van 
Buren's;  hence  Stanton  put  forth  mighty  efforts  to  carry  Ohio  for 
him.  The  defeat  of  Van  Buren  in  that  campaign  and  in  convention 
four  years  later,  coupled  with  the  death  of  his  adored  wife,  caused 
Stanton  to  bury  himself  the  more  deeply  in  the  law,  his  other  mis 
tress.  His  success  in  the  case  of  McNulty,  in  which  he  made  his  first 
appearance  in  Washington,  established  his  reputation  as  a  master 
jurist  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-one! 

Although  favoring  the  Mexican  war  and  presenting  resolutions  at 
a  mass  meeting  pledging  support  to  Folk's  administration  in  its  prose 
cution,  Stanton  was  bitterly  hostile  to  slavery.  Not  only  had  he  been 
brought  up  in  an  "atmosphere  of  religious  kindness  and  generous  hos 
pitality,"  but  of  abolitionism  as  well.  His  father  had  been  the  early 
teacher  and  friend  of  Benjamin  Lundy,  strongly  supporting  him  with 
funds  and  sympathy.  Lundy,  many  years  the  senior  of  Garrison,  was 
the  first  to  establish  anti-slavery  periodicals  and  to  deliver  anti-slavery 
lectures.  Doctor  Stanton's  strongest  trait,  next  to  the  love  of  his 
profession,  was  hatred  of  slavery.  It  is  easy,  therefore,  to  believe  that 
the  father  made  the  boy  swear  eternal  hostility  to  it,  even  as  Hamilcar 
made  his  son  Hannibal  vow  deathless  warfare  against  Rome! 

Stanton's  growing  law  practice  called  him  Hast  a  great  deal;  he 
therefore  opened  an  office  in  Pittsburg  the  better  to  care  for  it  in  1847. 
For  nearly  ten  years  it  was  his  headquarters,  and  busy  years  they  were. 
He  again  appeared  in  Van  Buren's  interest  in  1848,  supporting  him  as 
a  Free  Soil  candidate  against  Cass,  the  regular  Democratic  nominee. 
If  he  had  not  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  former  triumph,  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  the  latter  defeated.  The  editor  of  the  Pittsburg 
Post,  the  Democratic  organ,  a  life  long  friend,  said  he  never  took  seri 
ous  stock  in  Stanton's  democracy.  "He  was  more  of  a  student  than  a 
politician;  and  after  his  professional  reputation  became  strong  took  no 
interest  in  partisan  controversies  except  as  they  involved  his  friends  or 
clients.  Law,  law,  law,  was  his  god,  his  mistress,  and  there  he  never 


ceased  to  worship.  He  always  was  opposed  to  slavery  extension  and 
to  slavery  itself."  We  have  in  these  words  the  key  to  Stanton's  life, 
private  and  public;  they  sum  up  his  character  and  explain  his  astound 
ing  success  in  the  war  department! 

His  practice  in  Pittsburg,  where  he  was  already  well  known,  was 
large  and  lucrative.  He  was  retained  in  nearly  every  great  case,  one 
of  which  The  State  of  Pennsylvania  vs.  The  Wheeling  and  Belmont 
Bridge  Company  gave  him  lasting  fame.  The  question  was  one  of  the 
obstruction  of  the  Ohio  River  and,  necessarily,  of  interstate  commerce 
regulation.  Stanton  brought  suit  to  abate  the  bridge  as  a  public 
nuisance,  as  an  obstruction  to  free  commerce  between  the  states  and  a 
damage  to  the  general  welfare.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  before 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court  on  the  motion  of  Attorney  General 
Johnson,  and  argued  the  case  before  the  full  bench.  It  dragged  on 
for  several  years,  the  court  finally  deciding  in  favor  of  Stanton  with 
costs.  The  fact  that  Congress  came  to  the  relief  of  the  bridge  com 
pany  in  no  way  impaired  Stanton's  reputation.  /  He  had  contended 
for  the  right  of  Congress  to  regulate  interstate  commerce  in  every  pos 
sible  form;  and  the  theories  he  then  advanced  are  now  cardinal  prin 
ciples  and  fully  embodied  in  the  law  of  the  country.  Appearing 
before  Judge  Black  in  a  railroad  case  his  definition  of  the  rights  and 
limitations  of  public  corporations  and  the  undeveloped  or  reserved 
powers  for  their  control  caused  the  Judge  to  describe  him  as  the  great 
est  lawyer  of  the  time.  But  the  most  celebrated  case  with  which  Mr. 
Stanton  was  ever  associated  was  that  of  the  McCormick  reaper.  Suit 
was  brought  here  in  Cincinnati  in  1855  against  John  H.  Manny  for  an 
infringement  of  that  patent,  Stanton,  Abraham  Lincoln  and  others 
appearing  for  the  defendant.  It  was  the  first  meeting  of  these 
remarkable  men  and  Stanton  is  said  to  have  been  very  rude  to  the 
future  president.  Nevertheless,  his  argument  captivated  Lincoln  who 
declared  that  he  was  "going  home  to  study  law."  In  this  case  as  in 
nearly  all  in  which  he  appeared  Stanton  was  successful. 

His  second  marriage,  his  removal  to  Washington  and  the  election 
of  James  Buchanan,  a  personal  friend,  to  the  presidency  all  occurred 
in  1856.  His  close  alliance  with  the  administration  through  Attorney 
General  Black  brought  him  business  and  renewed  his  interest  in  the 
Democratic  party.  At  Black's  request  he  went  to  California  as  special 
counsel  of  the  United  States  to  investigate  various  land  claims  arising 


6 

out  of  our  war  with  Mexico.  He  was  instructed  "to  do  his  utmost  to 
protect  the  interests  of  the  Government" — an  injunction  wholly  unnec 
essary.  He  was  absent  nearly  a  year  and  his  success,  as  usual,  was 
complete;  "for  he  prevented  a  stupendous  robbery  of  the  Government 
and  of  San  Francisco;  settled  the  land  titles  of  California,  and  changed 
the  character  of  Pacific  Coast  civilization."  In  his  own  words:  "For 
the  last  few  years  a  set  of  Mexicans  have  been  plundering  the  United 
States  at  the  rate  of  a  million  a  year  without  any  questions  being 
asked.  Having  determined  to  throw  a  brick  at  them,  I  shall  stay  to 
see  where  it  hits."  During  Stanton's  absence  on  the  Coast,  Lincoln 
met  Douglas  in  joint  debate  and  overcame  him,  thereby  making  him 
self  a  national  figure  and  a  candidate  for  the  presidency.  Whether 
Stanton  at  his  distant  post  heard  tidings  of  his  future  chief  we  are  not 
informed. 

He  had  scarcely  returned  from  California  before  being  called  upon 
to  defend  Daniel  E.  Sickles  upon  the  charge  of  murder.  His  client 
had  shot  Philip  Barton  Key  upon  the  streets  of  Washington  because 
of  an  unholy  alliance  with  Mrs.  Sickles.  This  case  which  Stanton 
fought  to  a  successful  conclusion  not  only  gave  scope  for  his  marvel 
ous  legal  and  oratorical  powers,  but  set  a  precedent  for  what  is  com 
monly  know  now-a-days  as  the  unwritten  law.  Stanton  justified  the 
shooting  "on  the  firmest  principles  of  self-defense;"  and  the  jury  so 
held. 

We  have  thus  far  considered  Mr.  Stanton  in  the  light  of  a  lawyer, 
a  politician  if  you  please;  he  now  comes  upon  the  stage  as  a  statesman, 
an  active  worker  in  behalf  of  the  union  and  a  leader  among  public  men. 
In  the  campaign  of  '60  while  personally  friendly  to  Breckinridge,  he 
believed  him  to  be  a  sectional  candidate,  and  therefore  not  entitled  to 
election;  of  Lincoln  he  knew  but  little,  but  feared  his  radical  abolition 
supporters;  he  therefore  hoped  for  the  election  of  Douglas  as  a  golden 
mean.  He  frequently  expressed  the  opinion,  however,  that  Lincoln 
would  be  victorious  by  a  narrow  margin  and  become  a  minority 
president.  In  a  letter  of  July  2nd  to  his  Pittsburg  partner  he  said: 
"The  Democrats  are  so  entirely  divided  that  none  of  their  candidates 
can  win,  in  my  opinion.  The  Western  railsplitter  will  be  technically 
elected,  and  we  shall  see  great  dissension."  Verily,  he  was  a  true 
prophet  in  all  three  particulars! 

Lincoln  was  elected;  South  Carolina  took  immediate  steps  toward 


secession,  and  other  states  were  threatening  to  join  her.  Buchanan's 
cabinet  with  its  southern  majority  was  fatally  divided  as  to  the  policy 
to  be  pursued.  Early  in  December  Gen.  Cass  resigned  as  Secretary  of 
State  because  the  President  would  not  reinforce  Maj.  Anderson  in 
Charleston  Harbor.  Black  was  transferred  from  the  law  to  the  state 
department.  Stanton  while  absent  on  government  business  was  informed 
that  the  President  wished  to  nominate  him  as  attorney  general.  His 
hour  had  come;  henceforth  he  moved  upon  a  higher  plane,  within  a 
larger  sphere!  His  deepest  thought,  his  entire  self-sacrifice  and 
devotion  to  the  public  weal  are  shown  when  he  writes  to  a  childhood 
friend — "After  much  hesitation  and  serious  reflection  I  resolved  to 
accept  the  post  to  which  in  my  absence  I  was  called  in  the  hope  of 
doing  something  to  save  this  Government.  I  am  willing  to  perish  if 
thereby  this  union  may  be  saved."  Stanton,  Black,  Holt  and  Dix  in 
Buchanan's  reorganized  cabinet  stood  firmly  together  in  foiling  the 
conspirators,  in  arousing  the  people  and  in  placing  the  country  in  as 
good  a  condition  as  possible  for  the  impending  conflict.  When  the 
news  of  Anderson's  transfer  from  Fort  Moultrie  to  Fort  Sumter 
reached  Buchanan,  he  and  several  of  his  cabinet  condemned  him  and 
threatened  to  abandon  him.  Stanton  was  aroused  and  exclaimed, 
"Mr.  President,  it  is  my  duty  as  your  legal  adviser  to  say  that  you 
have  no  right  to  give  up  the  property  of  the  Government  or  abandon 
its  soldiers  to  its  enemies;  and  the  course  proposed  is  treason,  and  if 
followed,  will  involve  you  and  all  concerned  in  it  in  treason."  His 
resignation  was  put  in  writing  and  had  Buchanan  insisted,  Stanton 
would  have  withdrawn  on  the  instant.  He  objected  as  stoutly  to  the 
President's  reception  and  treatment  of  the  gentlemen  claiming  to  be 
"commissioners"  from  South  Carolina;  and  his  Memorandum  to  the 
President  replying  to  them  was  well  called  by  Holt  "a  wonderful- 
paper."  Stanton  further  urged  the  immediate  dispatch  of  a  trusty 
messenger  to  Maj.  Anderson  "to  let  him  know  that  the  Government 
will  not  desert  him,"  and  that  reinforcements  should  follow  immedi 
ately.  He  had  the  courage  to  tell  Mr.  Buchanan  that  the  surrender 
of  Fort  Sumter  by  the  Government  would  be  a  crime  equal  to  the 
crime  of  Arnold,  and  that  all  who  participated  in  the  act  should  be 
hanged!  Could  Stanton  have  had  his  way  the  seceding  senators  and 
representatives  in  Washington  would  have  been  arrested  and  impris 
oned;  in  particular  would  he  have  made  every  effort  to  prevent  the 


8 

setting  up  of  the  Confederate  Government  at  Montgomery  and  the 
inauguration  of  Davis  and  Stephens.  When  Buchanan  declared  that 
it  was  too  late  and  he  helpless,  Stanton  retorted — "It  is  never  too  late 
to  save  the  country.  We  are  not  helpless.  If  we  supinely  permit 
some  upstart  to  be  elected  and  inaugurated  as  president  at  Montgom 
ery,  we  shall  have  to  permit  the  same  performance  here  in  Washing 
ton,  if  undertaken.  .  .  .  Mr.  President,  there  must  be  no  so-called 
inauguration  of  another  president  while  you  occupy  that  high  office, 
never,  never!"  The  fact  that  this  and  other  burning  appeals  fell 
upon  deaf  ears  was  not  to  his  discredit. 

With  the  incoming  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration  on  March  4, 
1861,  Mr.  Stanton  retired  with  his  chief;  but  his  incumbency  of  the 
attorney  general's  office,  brief  though  it  was,  had  brought  him  prom 
inently  before  the  country.  He  had  displayed  high  qualities;  was 
recognized  as  a  man  of  power  and  resource;  and  regarded  as  the  back 
bone  of  the  administration  and  the  author  of  its  measures  to  save  the 
Union.  During  the  remainder  of  this  year, — the  first  of  the  war,— 
Mr.  Stanton  held  no  office  but  kept  in  close  touch  with  public  affairs 
by  acting  as  attorney  for  both  General  Scott  and  Secretary  Cameron, 
and  as  confidential  counsel  for  Gen.  Dix,  commanding  in  Baltimore. 
He  also  carried  on  an  exhaustive  correspondence  with  Mr.  Buchanan 
in  which  he  hesitated  not  to  criticise  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  administra 
tion  frankly  and  fully.  With  the  failure  of  the  administration  to 
initiate  a  bold,  warlike  policy  he  became  as  greatly  disgusted  as  he 
had  been  with  Buchanan's.  He  spoke  of  the  Bull  Run  disaster  as 
follows:  "The  imbecility  of  this  administration  has  culminated  in 
that  catastrophe,  and  irretrievable  misfortune  and  national  disgrace 
are  to  be  added  to  the  ruin  of  all  peaceful  pursuits  and  national  bank 
ruptcy  as  the  result  of  Lincoln's  running  the  machine  for  five 
months."  In  speaking  of  possible  cabinet  changes  he  says  that 
beyond  the  War  and  Navy  Departments  none  will  take  place  "until 
Jefferson  Davis  turns  out  the  whole  concern."  These  and  many  other 
like  statements  seem  harsh,  unkind,  disloyal  even;  Stanton  has  been 
as  severely  criticised  for  their  use  as  these  strictures  are  severe  upon 
others.  But  we  must  remember  that  he  spoke  from  the  standpoint  of 
a  thoroughly  loyal  citizen,  who  had  been  behind  the  scenes,  had  met  the 
secessionists  and  known  their  power;  who  accurately  gauged  the  ter 
rible  struggle  upon  which  the  country  had  embarked;  and  who  longed 


9 

with  an  inexpressible  longing  that  the  Government  should  arise  in  its 
might  and  crush  secession. 

Events  followed  one  another  in  rapid  succession,  even  as  disaster 
piled  upon  disaster.  Mr.  Cameron's  continuance  in  the  War  office 
became  impossible  because  of  a  radical  difference  with  Mr.  Lincoln  in 
the  treatment  of  the  slavery  question;  and  the  President  not  knowing 
that  Stanton  was  even  more  advanced  in  his  views  called  him  to  head 
that  department.  Joseph  Holt,  of  Kentucky,  who  had  done  good 
service  in  Buchanan's  cabinet  in  that  very  office  was  his  first  choice, 
but  Seward  and  other  influential  persons  turned  the  scale  in  Stanton' s 
favor.  When  consulted  upon  the  subject  Stanton's  reply  was — "Tell 
the  President  I  will  accept  if  no  other  pledge  than  to  throttle  treason 
shall  be  exacted."  From  the  day  in  which  he  took  hold  of  the  War 
office  things  changed,  moved,  improved;  new  life  was  infused  into 
every  department;  the  railway  and  telegraph  lines,  those  invaluable 
aids,  were  made  to  serve  the  Government  and  to  cease  aiding  the 
rebellion;  those  in  civil  or  military  life  whose  loyalty  was  doubtful 
were  watched  or  dismissed;  supplies  were  purchased  at  home  and  not 
abroad  and  gold  ceased  to  be  exported;  the  financial  reports  from  New 
York  and  the  leading  monetary  journals  announced  a  "marked 
upward  turn  and  advanced  strength"  in  government  securities  "owing 
to  the  change  in  the  War  department  and  the  energetic  character  of  the 
new  incumbent." 

Who  can  follow  him  through  the  succeeding  three  years?  His 
identity  was  sunk  in  the  cause;  his  history  becomes  largely  that  of  the 
civil  war.  He  was  here,  there,  everywhere,  touching  everything 
and  everybody  "as  with  a  rod  of  fire" — writing,  speaking,  telegraph 
ing,  advising,  suggesting,  planning,  commanding — working  always, 
day  and  night.  No  one  excepting  Lincoln  himself  worked  as  hard  and 
carried  as  heavy  a  burden.  The  recruiting,  examining,  enlisting, 
clothing,  drilling,  arming,  transporting,  feeding,  paying  a  million 
men — who  can  conceive  of  the  amount  of  work  involved?  "I  believe," 
says  one  who  knew  him  well,  "his  executive  ability  was  beyond  any 
limit  the  ordinary  mind  can  fix."  All  records  were  broken  during  our 
civil  war — as  to  sums  of  money  expended  and  number  of  men 
engaged.  It  was  a  mighty  trio  indeed  that  Lincoln  had  about  him  to 
carry  on  this  stupendous  work:  Seward  kept  all  foreign  hands  off  dur 
ing  this  battle  of  giants  and  saw  to  it  that  fair  play  was  accorded  each 


10 

combatant;  Chase  raised  the  immense  sums  necessary  for  its  prosecu 
tion;  while  Stan  ton  wielded  with  fearful  effect  on  a  clear  field  the 
death-dealing  instrument  provided.  This  being  a  paper  upon  him  and 
not  a  history  of  the  war,  a  detailed  statement  of  military  movements 
and  operations,  of  defeats  and  victories,  has  no  place  here;  nor  is  it 
mine  to  defend  Stan  ton  when  wrong  or  to  claim  infallibility  for  him. 
I  hold  no  brief  on  his  behalf;  we  are  engaged  in  a  study  of  his  life  and 
work  and  are  honestly  trying  to  get  at  the  whole  truth  without  fear  or 
favor,  partiality  or  hypocrisy. 

Mr.  Stanton  as  a  lawyer  and  Democrat  of  the  Jackson  school 
might  have  been  supposed  to  treat  the  question  of  slavery  rather 
gingerly  and  to  decline  the  help  of  the  blacks  until  necessity  obliged 
such  a  step.  But  had  he  been  disposed  to  adopt  such  a  course,  events 
would  have  forced  him  to  change  it.  Mr.  Lincoln  though  hating 
slavery  was  at  first  decidedly  opposed  to  the  use  of  slaves  in  the  army, 
and  overruled  both  officials  and  generals  who  favored  their  enlistment. 
But  Blaine  well  says  that  even  if  the  Government  desired  the  question 
of  slavery  kept  out  of  the  war,  the  war  would  not  let  the  question  rest. 
From  the  outset,  at  first  Bull  Run,  blacks  were  busily  engaged  on  the 
Confederate  side  as  teamsters,  cooks  and  laborers  in  throwing  up 
entrenchments.  If  serviceable  to  them,  why  not  to  us?  Lincoln, 
Stanton  and  all  others  were  agreed  that  before  the  war,  under  the 
Constitution,  there  was  no  power  in  the  Executive  nor  in  Congress  to 
interfere  with  slavery  in  the  states;  but  war  changes  everything:  it 
legislates.  Slaves,  while  technically  "persons"  under  the  law  were 
in  reality  "property."  As  such  Stanton  claimed  the  right  to  seize 
and  use  them,  even  as  he  would  have  turned  against  the  South  cap 
tured  guns,  cannon  and  ammunition.  All  feeling  and  passion  have  long 
since  died  away  upon  this  subject;  so  men  of  all  classes,  sections  and 
parties  now  hold  with  Stanton  that  the  Government  had  the  lawful 
right  and  it  was  its  bounden  duty  to  use  every  means  obtainable  for 
self-preservation.  No  one  in  Cabinet,  Congress  or  the  Army  urged 
the  employment  of  blacks  or  the  emancipation  of  slaves  as  war  meas 
ures  more  heartily  than  Stanton;  and  when  the  President's  proclama 
tions  were  issued  he  rejoiced  and  felt  that  "no  blunder  and  no  dis 
aster  could  avert  the  ultimate  triumph  of  our  arms." 

The  war  went  on;  torrents  of  blood  were  poured  forth  b}r  brave 
men  on  both  sides;  awful  was  the  slaughter;  desperate  were  the  con- 


11 

ditions.  Denounced  daily  in  Congress,  on  the  stump  and  in  the 
press,  Stanton,  he  who  was  a  very  fury  among  his  fellows  yet  an  angel 
in  his  family  and  to  the  weak  and  poor,  and  who  "completely  melted 
in  the  presence  of  children," — held  steadily  on  his  course,  holding  up 
the  hands  of  the  President,  furnishing  the  men  in  the  field  with 
abundant  supplies  of  every  description,  enforcing  the  draft  however 
unpopular,  allowing  nothing  to  interfere  with  nor  divert  him  from  his 
duty.  It  was  as  if  he  had  taken  for  his  motto  the  cry,  "O  Neptune, 
you  may  save  rne  if  you  will;  you  may  sink  me  if  you  will;  but  what 
ever  happens,  I  will  hold  my  rudder  true."  With  the  full  force  of  an 
aroused  North  wielded  with  terrific  power,  with  such  an  irresistible 
body  brought  against  it,  the  Confederacy  must  needs  collapse.  The 
fall  of  Richmond,  the  surrender  of  Lee  and  the  assassination  of  the 
man  whom  Stanton  had  so  stoutly  upheld  all  came  as  a  sudden,  a 
startling  climax.  The  first  filled  him  with  joy  as  great  as  the  latter 
brought  grief  profound.  Stanton,  this  man  of  iron,  watched  with 
falling  tears  the  ebbing  of  his  chieftain's  life,  and  when  all  was  over 
darkened  the  windows  and  said,  "He  now  belongs  to  the  ages." 

With  Stanton' s  service  in  the  cabinet  of  Andrew  Johnson  and  sub 
sequent  disagreement  with  him  over  the  question  of  reconstruction  we 
will  not  deal;  they  are  beyond  the  war  period  and  are  more  likely  to 
provoke  discusssion  and  develop  differences.  But  it  should  be  stated 
that  his  disbanding  of  our  armies  and  the  return  of  our  soldiers  to 
their  homes  was  as  masterly  a  work  as  their  first  creation.  Both 
responded  to  the  wand  of  the  magician!  Broken  in  health,  with 
empty  purse  and  no  clients  and  with  opposition  from  Republican  sen 
ators  to  a  vote  of  thanks  by  Congress,  Stanton  eagerly  accepted 
President  Grant's  nomination  as  an  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  His  mind  must  have  reverted  to  that  day  five  years  before  when 
Mr.  Lincoln  offered  to  make  him  chief  of  that  court,  on  condition  that 
Stanton  would  find  a  man  who  could  be  trusted  as  secretary  of  war. 
Stanton  knew  of  no  such  man  and  lost  the  prize.  Was  there  ever  such 
self-abnegation?  Grant's  offer,  alas,  came  too  late;  Stanton  was  worn 
out.  On  December  24,  1869 — the  month  of  his  birth,  his  marriage 
and  entry  into  Buchanan's  cabinet — he  passed  away  at  his  home  in 
Washington,  and  three  days  later  was  buried  in  Oak  Hill  Cemetery. 
"Thus  this  gigantic  patriot  after  superhuman  labors  lay  down  to 
rest.'" 


12 

It  is  altogether  true,  as  charged  by  his  enemies,  that  he  was  short, 
sharp,  brusque,  autocratic.  Let  it  be  frankly  admitted — with  the 
remark  that  his  entire  devotion  to  and  absorption  by  his  duties  was 
the  cause.  Lincoln  called  him  "Old  Mars"  and  watched  with  wonder 
and  admiration  his  dispatch  of  business.  The  bounty-jumper,  the 
dealer  in  shoddy,  the  speculator,  the  man  who  should  have  been  at 
the  front  —  all  these  met  short  shrift;  but  for  the  man  behind  the  gun, 
the  boys  in  the  trenches,  nothing  was  too  good, — nor  for  the  officer 
leading  them  on  to  victory.  His  first  general  order  to  the  army  was 
a  message  of  thanks  and  praise  for  the  brilliant  victory  of  Mill  Spring; 
and  he  was  ever  ready  to  suitably  reward  both  officers  and  men.  Of 
course  he  made  enemies,  many,  powerful,  bitter,  unrelenting,  both  in 
civil  and  army  life,  within  his  own  party  as  well  as  in  that  of  the 
opposition;  but  "we  love  him  for  the  enemies  he  made."  "To  the 
nation's  trust  he  was  sublimely  true,"  and  retained  Lincoln's  confi 
dence  and  love  to  the  end.  Praise  from  Caesar  is  praise  indeed.  Can 
there  be  higher?  Hamilton  had  not  more  initiative  nor  executive 
power;  Jackson  not  more  fearlessness  nor  rugged  strength.  Long 
before  he  was  clothed  with  its  symbols,  "he  seemed  the  embodiment 
of  power,"  testifies  one.  William  of  Orange,  Hampden,  Washington 
and  Lincoln  were  not  purer  patriots.  When  he  wrote  that  he  was 
willing  to  perish  if  the  country  might  be  saved,  he  reached  high- 
water  mark  of  patriotism;  and  he  soon  had  an  opportunity  to  make 
good  his  brave  words,  and  did  so.  Laying  aside  the  practice  of  law 
which  some  authorities  declare  was  yielding  him  fifty  thousand  dollars 
yearly,  he  accepted  an  office  paying  him  less  than  one  sixth  of  that 
sum.  His  burden  was  that  of  the  Old  Man  of  the  Sea — heavy,  crush 
ing,  unceasing.  His  reputation,  political  standing,  law  practice, 
health,  peace,  his  life — all  were  lost:  he  did  indeed  perish! 

Stanton  has  been  criticised  more  severely  for  his  treatment  of  two 
generals,  McClellan  and  Stone,  than  for  any  other  of  his  numberless 
official  acts.  Had  little  Mac  been  of  an  opposing  political  party,  the 
cry  of  politics  might  have  been  raised;  but  Stanton  as  well  as  the 
general  was  a  Democrat.  There  could  have  been  no  personal  pique 
nor  dislike,  because  McClellan  had  been  a  client  of  his,  a  visitor  at 
his  residence, — even  an  inmate  of  his  family.  There  is  absolutely  no 
course  left  open  to  the  student  of  history  but  to  state  that  Stanton  and 
McClellan  differed  radically  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  war;  and  time  has 


13 

fully  vindicated  Stanton's  action  with  regard  to  him.  As  to  Stone 
whose  alleged  offence  occurred  before  Stanton  became  secretary,  it  is 
freely  admitted  that  he  was  long  detained  in  prison  without  trial.  In 
time  of  peace  this  would  have  been  monstrous;  in  time  of  war,  harsh 
but  necessary.  Stanton  himself  said  that  individuals  were  nothing; 
that  General  Stone  in  Fort  Lafayette  was  doing  his  share  towards 
saving  the  union.  President  Lincoln  stated  that  whether  Stone  was 
guilty  or  innocent  "circumstances  required,  as  appears  to  me,  such 
proceedings  to  be  had  against  him  for  the  public  safety."  As  McClel- 
lan  gave  Stanton  the  information  upon  which  Stone's  arrest  was 
ordered,  he  shares  with  the  secretary  the  responsibility.  Stanton, 
burdened  with  a  thousand  duties  and  advised  by  parties  whose  testi 
mony  he  considered  credible,  doubtless  did  a  great  wrong  to  a  loyal 
officer;  but  that  he  sincerely  believed  his  own  course  to  be  the  best  for 
the  country  is  unquestionable. 

This  man  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  knew  neither  friend  nor 
foe,  neither  stranger  nor  relative,  officer  nor  private,  Republican  nor 
Democrat,  Northerner  nor  Southerner.  The  Southern  Democrat  or 
Whig  with  slaves  but  loyal  to  the  union  was  nearer  his  heart  than  the 
Northern  Republican  who  denounced  Lincoln,  or  the  abolitionist  who 
inveighed  against  preserving  the  union.  His  eye  was  single;  hence, 
his  whole  body  was  full  of  light.  No  maiden  wedding  her  lover,  no 
vestal  virgin  keeping  the  sacred  fire  ever  burning  in  the  temple,  no 
nun  taking  the  deathless  vows  of  poverty,  chastity  and  obedience  had 
more  complete  devotion  or  made  a  more  entire  dedication  than  this 
man  to  the  cause  of  the  union.  He  knew  instinctively  and  instantly 
what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it.  If  it  was  true  of  Henry  Clay  that  he 
knew  the  remedy  before  others  discovered  the  disease,  how  much  more 
so  of  Stanton?  It  was  said  of  Napoleon  that  he  thought  quicker  and 
better  than  other  men — it  is  true  of  this  latter-day  Napoleon.  But  he 
firmly  believed  in  a  higher  power  than  his  own;  he  looked  beyond  his 
own  strength  and  leaned  upon  a  stronger  arm.  Often  would  he  retire 
within  his  private  office  and  pray  for  the  country,  for  the  people,  for 
Mr.  Lincoln,  for  himself;  and  when  men  like  Bishop  Simpson  of  the 
Methodist  Church  called  upon  him,  he  would  ask  them  to  offer  prayer 
for  these  objects.  His  writings,  public  and  private,  his  conversation 
and  speeches,  all  were  full  of  trust  in  God  and  acknowledgments  of 
His  gracious  favor  when  victory  was  vouchsafed  to  us. 


14 

In  these  days  of  graft  and  when  the  use  of  public  office  as  a 
private  perquisite  has  become  a  fine  art,  it  is  refreshing  to  read  of  one 
who  received  nothing  but  his  salary  and  who  declined  to  use  his  great 
office  for  personal  ends.  With  boundless  opportunities  for  speculation 
and  self-aggrandizement,  he  absolutely  declined  to  take  advantage  of 
them  or  to  profit  at  his  country's  expense.  His  integrity  was  perfect; 
his  honor,  spotless.  No  Cato  was  more  strict  or  sternly  virtuous; 
Caesar's  wife  not  more  above  suspicion.  A  former  law  student  and 
partner  who  hoped  to  secure  a  Government  contract  for  a  friend  while 
visiting  the  Secretary  was  told — "No  talk  on  business  here,  William; 
I'll  hear  you  at  the  Department  to-morrow."  Surely  he  had  clean 
hands. 

Pardon  one  word  of  a  personal  nature.  My  maternal  grand 
father,  Dr.  William  Sparrow,  was  this  man's  teacher  at  Kenyon 
College;  received  him  into  the  Episcopal  Church  by  the  sacrament  of 
baptism;  and  assisted  in  his  burial  service.  These  form  a  triple  tie, 
which  is  enlarged  and  strengthened  by  the  possession  of  a  father's 
commission  as  chaplain  in  the  army  bearing  that  well  known  signature 
and  constituting  a  priceless  family  heirloom. 

Edwin  McMasters  Stanton  has  been  gone  from  the  sight  of  his 
fellow  men  for  two  score  years.  Practically  all  of  the  leaders,  civil 
and  military,  on  both  sides  are  gone.  The  cry  of  "On  to  Richmond" 
has  ceased;  Sherman's  bummers  are  no  longer  "Marching  through 
Georgia;"  and  "the  rebel  rides  on  his  raid  no  more."  Many  men, 
however,  now  living  knew  Stanton  personally;  and  among  them  the 
members  of  the  Loyal  Legion  would  naturally  be  foremost.  Nearly 
every  officer's  commission  bears  his  signature  as  well  as  that  of  the 
martyr  President.  Who  is  not  proud  of  that  bit  of  parchment?  Who 
would  exchange  it  for  gold?  It  attests  the  loyalty  and  devotion  of 
him  whose  name  it  bears  upon  its  face;  it  preserves  for  future  genera 
tions  the  signatures  of  the  two  men  most  identified  with  the  mighty 
struggle  to  preserve  the  union.  If  the  South  in  less  than  half  a  cen 
tury  has  realized,  in  spite  of  her  awful  losses  in  men  and  money,  the 
value  of  a  union  preserved,  how  much  more  will  future  generations, 
both  North  and  South,  rise  up  and  call  these  two  blessed,  Lincoln  the 
Liberator  and  Stanton  the  Great  War  Secretary.  And  when  the  long 
roll  of  heroes  performing  each  his  part  in  that  terrible  civil  strife 
shall  have  been  made  up  by  impartial  History,  the  name  of  Edwin 


15 

McMasters  Stanton  will,  like  that  of  his  Chief,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
appear  in  the  dual  light  of  Hero  and  Martyr;  and  History  scanning 
that  glorious  list  will  find  that  lo!  with  that  one  exception  the  name 
of  Stanton  leads  all  the  rest. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUB  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

AN     INITIAL     FINE    OF     25    CENTS 

VV.L.L  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FA.LURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL.  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  *1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


.'        67 
;5« 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


